ukuraleigh
Well-known member
Just back from a 10-day trip to Hawaii that include some time on my favorite island of Lana'i and a conference in Waikiki. I skipped looking forward to Christmas this past year and instead channeled all of my excitement on this trip. It would be the first time in 20+ trips to Hawaii that I would be taking an ukulele with me.
My instrument of choice was a Makai soprano I had recently purchased from UkeRepublic. Small enough, nice enough, but not so expensive that I would mind if it got dinged up.
Anyway, taking my uke with me turned out to be every bit of the great decision I hoped it would be. Here's a recap of my Hawaiian ukulele adventure.
A man, a kindle, and a beach.
First up, I spent a day on the beautiful Hulopo'e Beach on Lana'i. This seemed a fitting place to read bazmaz's new book "More Of What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know" on my kindle.
A quick, but both entertaining and informative read.
Click here to see photo.
Shredding with Auntie Irene
Next up, the Four Season's Lana'i had arranged for me to have a private lesson with resident Hawaiian culture expert, Auntie Irene. It was fun to (literally) sit down with Irene and play some Hawaiian classics. The lesson was pretty basic--Lovely Hula Hands, E Huli Makou--until she decided to end the lesson with a little Santana! She seemed a little disappointed that I couldn't stay longer, but I had already arranged to go meet Albert.
Meet Albert
Albert Morita is a quiet, humble man. He plays ukulele for local senior resident homes and his 6-string Kamaka Tenor is perfect for the hula dancers he supports. We met at the Lana'i Cultural & Heritage Center, which meant visitors that afternoon were treated to a little background music while they toured this excellent museum. Albert was patient with me, but also stretched me to play some tougher songs, and some chords I had not played before. We played for about 90 minutes, and even had a hula dancer join us! That was a trip! Afterwards, we grabbed lunch in Lana'i City and "talked story."
On my lanai on Lana'i
In between all of that, I learned the skill of playing an ukulele as softly as possible--something Jake has preached as a skill. Sitting out on my lanai in the early hours, watching for whales, I spent plenty of time playing my uke.
Click to view photo.
My Happy Place
My wife--the Hawaii travel expert--happened to mention that Lana'i is her "Happy Place." So, one afternoon on the beach, I composed and wrote a song entitled just that: Happy Place. I'm still fine tuning it, but will have a video up shortly.
Click to view photo.
Waikiki Bound
Moving from the quiet of Lana'i to the hustle and bustle of Waikiki was a culture shock, for sure. Fortunately, at least two friends were there with ukuleles they had bought in Waikiki. This gave me a chance to jam a little with them.
First, at a social media meetup at the Modern Hotel (photo).
Then, on the beach at sunset (photo).
Haleiwa Can Mean Only One Thing!
On our last day, we decided to spend some time in Haleiwa. Such a pretty little town and the perfect opportunity to stop by Hawaii Music Supply and meet MGM in person.
Talk about a kid in a candy store! MGM has that little store stuffed to the gills with ukuleles. You name it, he pretty much had it. I tried really hard to satisfy my UAS itch, but having just bought a Pono Concert from HMS a month before, I just couldn't justify another new uke--I have 10 already.
Still, MGM was very nice and tried his best to find something unique to add to my collection. No ukulele purchase this time, but I did walk away with a great photo with the man himself.
So, that's my trip. I'm sure it comes across as boasting, but when you have an ukulele experience as rich as this, you just can't help sharing!
Mahalo for reading!
My instrument of choice was a Makai soprano I had recently purchased from UkeRepublic. Small enough, nice enough, but not so expensive that I would mind if it got dinged up.
Anyway, taking my uke with me turned out to be every bit of the great decision I hoped it would be. Here's a recap of my Hawaiian ukulele adventure.
A man, a kindle, and a beach.
First up, I spent a day on the beautiful Hulopo'e Beach on Lana'i. This seemed a fitting place to read bazmaz's new book "More Of What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know" on my kindle.
A quick, but both entertaining and informative read.
Click here to see photo.
Shredding with Auntie Irene
Next up, the Four Season's Lana'i had arranged for me to have a private lesson with resident Hawaiian culture expert, Auntie Irene. It was fun to (literally) sit down with Irene and play some Hawaiian classics. The lesson was pretty basic--Lovely Hula Hands, E Huli Makou--until she decided to end the lesson with a little Santana! She seemed a little disappointed that I couldn't stay longer, but I had already arranged to go meet Albert.
Meet Albert
Albert Morita is a quiet, humble man. He plays ukulele for local senior resident homes and his 6-string Kamaka Tenor is perfect for the hula dancers he supports. We met at the Lana'i Cultural & Heritage Center, which meant visitors that afternoon were treated to a little background music while they toured this excellent museum. Albert was patient with me, but also stretched me to play some tougher songs, and some chords I had not played before. We played for about 90 minutes, and even had a hula dancer join us! That was a trip! Afterwards, we grabbed lunch in Lana'i City and "talked story."
On my lanai on Lana'i
In between all of that, I learned the skill of playing an ukulele as softly as possible--something Jake has preached as a skill. Sitting out on my lanai in the early hours, watching for whales, I spent plenty of time playing my uke.
Click to view photo.
My Happy Place
My wife--the Hawaii travel expert--happened to mention that Lana'i is her "Happy Place." So, one afternoon on the beach, I composed and wrote a song entitled just that: Happy Place. I'm still fine tuning it, but will have a video up shortly.
Click to view photo.
Waikiki Bound
Moving from the quiet of Lana'i to the hustle and bustle of Waikiki was a culture shock, for sure. Fortunately, at least two friends were there with ukuleles they had bought in Waikiki. This gave me a chance to jam a little with them.
First, at a social media meetup at the Modern Hotel (photo).
Then, on the beach at sunset (photo).
Haleiwa Can Mean Only One Thing!
On our last day, we decided to spend some time in Haleiwa. Such a pretty little town and the perfect opportunity to stop by Hawaii Music Supply and meet MGM in person.
Talk about a kid in a candy store! MGM has that little store stuffed to the gills with ukuleles. You name it, he pretty much had it. I tried really hard to satisfy my UAS itch, but having just bought a Pono Concert from HMS a month before, I just couldn't justify another new uke--I have 10 already.
Still, MGM was very nice and tried his best to find something unique to add to my collection. No ukulele purchase this time, but I did walk away with a great photo with the man himself.
So, that's my trip. I'm sure it comes across as boasting, but when you have an ukulele experience as rich as this, you just can't help sharing!
Mahalo for reading!
Attachments
Last edited by a moderator: